Clarity, Confidence & the Grown-Up Energy of European Tech

The Panel Talk - Confidence Comes From Clarity

Week before last week, I joined a panel hosted by The Confident Woman x Financial Times to talk about building confidence after a career change or pivot.

It’s a topic that hit home for me, because like many of you, my path hasn’t been linear. I’ve moved between industries, roles, and even entire career identities. Wobbling all over and still am. But let’s be compassionate to ourselves.

And here’s the truth I shared on stage:

Confidence doesn’t come from being a know it all and we feel that way when, you seem to find someone in a meeting who’s just a really good salesperson. It does however come from knowing yourself really clearly and being clear in what you are trying to do. If you know your sh*t you will get far.

We tend to think confidence is about results, titles, achievements, or how others perceive us. But that kind of confidence is just a picture. It’s external. Though we live in an economy where personal brand gets you through the door

Real confidence, the kind that lasts through pivots and transitions is internal. It’s built from clarity.

Clarity in the micro builds confidence in the macro.

You don’t find confidence by staring at your five year plan. (Not everyone even has one of these so don’t feel pressured)

You find it by knowing what matters today, the next action, the next email, the next habit that moves you forward.

When you’re clear about the small stuff, momentum builds naturally. You start to trust yourself more. That’s confidence. I started to realise that the more prep I do before something, the more I over learn a topic, a space, a product idea, a tech stack - I know my stuff & I have confidence.

Clarity of mind = clarity of direction.

In the discussion, we also talked about mental clutter, the constant comparison, self-doubt, and information overload that make it hard to hear your own voice.

So much of confidence is mental hygiene (I love this phrase). Journaling. Taking walks. Saying no to things. Choosing spaces and people who make you feel big in thought, not small. Natasha on the panel recommend this book ‘One line a day’. So if you’re not much a journal’er or just cba, this is a good thing to get (Amazon)

The clearer your inner world, the stronger you stand in the outer one.

Habits are your quiet hype team.

Confidence isn’t a moment of bravery. It’s built through repeating it. The more you do something, the better you become at it - clarity.

The daily actions that reinforce who you’re becoming, even when you don’t feel 100% sure yet.

So if you’re in the middle of a pivot, remember:

You don’t need to have it all figured out.

You just need to know what matters right now, and take one clear, confident step in that direction.

That’s me right now, figuring it all out.

What I Took Away from Sifted Summit.

My first time at Sifted, and I went in with a clear goal:
to connect with founders, investors, and brands across Europe, not just for networking, but to understand where tech is headed next. I keep thinking the UK/Europe is finished. But maybe there is hope.

European tech is growing up.

The optimism is still there, but its met with focus, pricing power, sustainable growth, and steady, consistent performance.

It’s less about raising the next mega round and more about “how do we make this company last?” - this isn’t a bad thing.

The OpenAI Fireside Chat

4 million developers are now building on OpenAI.

ChatGPT has 800 million users worldwide.

And companies like Canva and Booking.com are integrating OpenAI into their workflows.

The conversation has clearly shifted from hype to utility. AI isn’t just the shiny new toy, it’s infrastructure.

What stood out most was how OpenAI is focusing on building tools people love and improving fast through feedback. The excitement now is in how we build with AI, not just what it can do.

Inclusion in the Age of AI

One of my favourite moments came from my friend Arfah, who ran a powerful roundtable on inclusion, specifically how we can ensure people aren’t left behind in the AI wave.

It’s something I think about often.

We used to talk about the “digital divide” people who didn’t have access to tech or digital skills.

Now, AI could actually close that gap, by making tools simpler, voice-based, and more accessible to everyone

A good reminder that inclusion matters just as much as innovation.

For Founders: Collaboration = Leverage

A big message across panels: Audit your workflows. Rethink how your teams collaborate. Build internal GPTs.

It helps teams move faster, communicate clearer, and execute smarter.

AI = clarity, in knowledge, systems & focus

Europe is steady:

• 🚀 Deep technical talent

• 🎓 A growing pool of STEM graduates

• 💸 Affordable tools

• 💼 Rising investor confidence

Europe’s no longer playing catch-up. It’s carving its own path, one that’s thoughtful, sustainable, and quietly powerful.

And of course, I loved catching up with old faces, meeting new ones, and feeling that in-person energy again.

2. What’s the Startup/Product Goss This Week?

Here’s what’s buzzing this week:

1️⃣ Canva is quietly positioning itself as the “AI design layer” for teams.

They’ve rolled out new integrations with OpenAI and a suite of enterprise features that make it clear: they’re not just a design tool anymore, they’re a creative operating system.

The goal? Becoming indispensable to every marketing and product team, not just designers.

Ngl I think Canva is brilliant. I get it for a designer, they probably think it’s the worst. Functionally it does so much for the majority.

2️⃣ Notion’s next move: Knowledge hubs.

Notion is experimenting with ways to make your company’s internal knowledge searchable and AI-accessible, essentially building mini “GPTs” from your docs, wikis, and meeting notes. I LOVE THIS.

3️⃣ Investors are warming up to “efficient” startups again.

After a few years of overfunded chaos, there’s a real shift toward founders who can do more with less.

Smaller teams, better margins, faster validation.

3. Product gems that made me howl…

Leaving you with my fave gem for your thoughts…

& finally, am I even up to anything great for your nosy?

I am a full time consultant and currently working with some great clients on digital transformation type work & fixing product positioning. I’m always open to speaking to Startups & Brands & I will be launching my shiny website too!

I’ll be attending Web Summit in Lisbon next month (through a client)! so lot’s of deats from that will be coming.

I have capacity to take on 1 coaching client this month so reach out if you are looking for one.

& I used the last 2/3 months as an incubator, researching, building & testing ideas that I can run with as a Startup. I’ll talk more about this soon.